


anchor

by delayofgame



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Boston Bruins, M/M, Sunburns, Supportive Friends™, This is so cliche I'm sorry, everyone except sean and dan are very minor characters but i'll tag them anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 06:34:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delayofgame/pseuds/delayofgame
Summary: Danton lies flat on his stomach on the bed, and Sean actually gasps when he sees the full extent of the sunburn.“Jesus, Danny, you look like a cooked lobster,” Sean says.“Thanks,” Danton deadpans. “I can always count on you to make me feel better.”





	anchor

**Author's Note:**

> this is technically a continuation of [smooth operator](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16777945/chapters/39371758) but it can also stand alone. danton has really been giving me bottom vibes lately so that's my only explanation for this. but they're both vers 
> 
> was listening to [this song](https://youtu.be/Zb_LxDnGxcI) while writing. if anyone cares to listen i can post my sex-scene-writing playlist on tumblr ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> as far as i know, sean danton charlie chris matt and ryan were the only ones who went to atlantis. if i'm wrong, whatever

The sun is warm and the air is heavy, and the sheen of sweat on Danton’s skin is making him stick a bit to the wicker chair he’s sitting in. There’s always something about the beach that makes him tired. It’s as if the energy seeps out of him slowly as he lolls in the heat, talking even less than he normally does and struggling to keep his eyes open behind his sunglasses. Still, when Charlie takes his phone out for an Instagram story, Danton musters the energy to hold up a peace sign.

The bye week is nice. It would be better, of course, if they had beaten the Rangers and were sitting on two points and boosted confidence during their break. Still, it’s good to sit back and refocus. The prospect of lounging on the beach for a few days with Sean (and the other guys too, of course, but… _Sean_ ) is quite inviting. 

Sean is wearing a black t-shirt despite the weather. His hair is messy, like he just got out of bed even though it’s early afternoon, and his skin is tanned and smooth (and shiny in places from either sweat or sunscreen, Danton can’t tell). Sean leans back in his chair and laughs at something that Matt said. Danton doesn’t try to suppress the fond smile playing at his lips. He’s expecting the knowing look that Chris gives him from across the table, and it doesn’t bother him. 

Maybe it shouldn’t feel this easy. Danton has heard the rumors and fear-mongering about the danger of pursuing teammates at every level, from juniors to college to the minors and beyond. 

It feels different to him. It’s _Sean_. 

Sean, who still sends him stupid memes at one in the morning and falls asleep in the middle of card games on long plane rides and cellies like crazy and scores huge goals, same as he always has. He’s still the same person that Danton has known since their first rookie camp together. Their dynamic within the team remains the same. It’s almost as if nothing has changed at all, on the surface. In the view of the world.

The late-night kisses are new, though. So are the times when nobody’s around to bother them and one of them feels bold enough to grab the other’s hand. Sometimes, Danton wakes up with his head on Sean’s chest, tangled up in the bedsheets. Sean presses kisses to his forehead. Sometimes the sun streams in through the gap in the curtains, coaxing them out of bed, and other times rain pelts against the glass and they stay in the warmth and safety under the covers for a few minutes longer. These moments are fleeting; with all their time on the road, getting a night together in either of their apartments is an uncommon occurrence. 

They aren’t dating. Danton doesn’t really know what they are, but he deleted his Tinder a week after the first time they kissed, so…

They’re _something_. 

Danton doesn’t feel the need to ask. Maybe during the summer they’ll have enough time and alcohol on their hands to gather the nerve to talk about it. For now, the team and the season are too important, and nearly anything else is just a distraction. 

Danton doesn’t realize that he’s zoned out until Charlie snaps his fingers in front of his face and startles him out of his thoughts. 

“Earth to Danton,” Charlie says. “We’re heading to the beach now, you can come or you can sit here and stare at Sean’s empty seat for the rest of the day.”

Sean laughs, good-natured even if it might be at Danton’s expense. “Come on, let’s try the snorkeling tour or something.”

Danton nods and stands up, unsticking himself from the scratchy wicker chair. He doesn’t mind the teasing. It means he’s part of the group, wholeheartedly accepted by Charlie and the rest. It would be far more troubling if they were afraid to poke fun at him; if his relationship with Sean somehow made them uneasy or overly circumspect about what they said around him. 

Again, nothing has really changed.

///

So, maybe Danton forgot to reapply sunscreen after spending an hour in the water looking at coral and impossibly colorful fish darting back and forth beneath him. The boat ride back to the dock isn’t very long. He feels the sun beating down on his shoulders, but he doesn’t care to grab his t-shirt from the puddle on the bottom of the boat it had fallen into, even when Sean comments on how red his skin is starting to look. It’s only ten minutes, how bad can it be?

The answer is that ten minutes can be _very_ bad. Danton feels a bit feverish throughout the rest of the day, and during dinner his skin stings whenever something grazes it, even through his shirt. By the time he gets back to his hotel room, his skin is hot to the touch.

He takes a cold shower, which provides temporary relief. The burning feeling returns the moment he turns the faucet off. 

Growing up where he did, Danton doesn’t have a lot of experiences with bad sunburns. He knows the typical remedies; aloe vera, moisturizer, drinking lots of water, and various other things his mother told him at some point during his adolescence. She also used to preach that _prevention is the best medicine_ , or something like that, but it seems that he’s failed that step.

The hotel towels are soft and fluffy and probably the nicest Danton has ever used, but it’s still unbearably painful when he tries to dry his shoulders. In the mirror, he can see the angry red spread over his skin, gradually fading down his arms and chest. There’s a thin line of unburned skin where his chain had been resting. 

He tosses the towel over the shower rod and lets himself air dry, but the burn keeps worsening as time goes on until it hurts to even lift his arms. He heads back into the room and grabs his phone to search for tips on relieving pain from a sunburn (perhaps there’s some miracle remedy his mother had never told him about). Just as he’s typing his cry for help into Google, a text from Sean pops up. 

It’s just a string of emojis; fire, duck, tongue-out face, _100_ , high-five. There’s no sense in trying to find any rhyme or reason in it. Danton sends back the sun, the sweating face, and the thumbs-down. 

_sunburn? i told u to put a shirt on dumbass_ , Sean replies.

Before Danton can send anything back, another text comes in.

_i have aloe_

It sounds like an invitation. Danton types a short response.

_bring it over?_

Sean is at his door a few minutes later with a large bottle of green gel. Danton hadn’t thought twice about the fact that he’s wearing nothing but black athletic shorts, and his face flushes almost the color of his shoulders when Sean gives him a very obvious, appreciative once-over.

“Let’s assess the damage,” Sean says, getting right to business. “Lie down.”

Danton lies flat on his stomach on the bed, and Sean actually gasps when he sees the full extent of the sunburn. 

“Jesus, Danny, you look like a cooked lobster,” Sean says. 

“Thanks,” Danton deadpans. “I can always count on you to make me feel better.”

Sean laughs lightly. “I _will_ make you feel better. But maybe think about protecting yourself from this kind of thing next time. It would probably be smart.”

“Well excuse me for not being used to… ultra-concentrated UV rays or whatever,” Danton gripes. “I’m Canadian.”

Sean opens the cap of the aloe bottle. “Whatever you say.”

Danton braces himself for the first drizzle of gel, but it’s immediately cool and soothing. Sean stands at the side of the bed and makes sure to squeeze a generous amount onto Danton’s skin.

He’s expecting the pain, but Danton still winces when Sean starts to rub in the aloe. 

Sean immediately pulls his hands away. “Sorry.”

“You’re good,” Danton says. “Just… be gentle.”

There’s definitely a joke that could be made there, but Sean doesn’t say it. He tries again, slower this time, using his palms to spread the gel over Danton’s shoulder blades. The cooling effect overtakes the pain of contact. Danton starts to relax, little by little.

Sean has to lean a bit awkwardly to get at the curve of Danton’s right shoulder and his upper arm. His solution is to swing a leg over Danton’s body and straddle him, careful not to rest all of his weight on Danton’s lower back. It’s easier that way to access all of the problem areas. 

Danton isn’t sure how much time passes, the tension and excess heat gradually seeping out of his body. Sean’s hands are _big_ but they’re smooth and gentle and Danton definitely wouldn’t mind getting this treatment more often. Sean eventually moves on from the irritated skin and moves farther down Danton’s back, applying harder pressure with the heels of his hands. He slides one hand up Danton’s spine, pressing just firmly enough, and a moan escapes Danton’s throat. 

Sean freezes. “ _Oh._ ”

Danton is worried that he’ll stop, but Sean seems to collect himself and gets his hands back on Danton, more confident now. He moves down so that he’s sitting on Danton’s thighs and can access more of his back, down to the waistband of his shorts. Danton can’t stop the whine that leaves his lips when Sean digs his thumbs in on either side of his spine right above his tailbone. 

“That feel good?” Sean asks. His voice is even huskier than normal, and it makes Danton shiver.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Danton sighs, as if Sean doesn’t already know. 

Sean’s breath is getting steadily heavier as he continues. He’s careful to keep the pressure light where the skin is sensitive, focusing mostly on the pale expanse of Danton’s back. Danton squirms reflexively when Sean presses against a ticklish spot on his side. He certainly doesn’t _intend_ to grind his ass right up against the front of Sean’s shorts, but he does, and Sean lets out a startled noise that’s edging on a moan. He quickly lifts his weight off of Danton as if to relinquish control of the situation; to let Danton make the next move. 

Danton sits up and turns to look at Sean. Sean is red-faced and his pupils are blown wide, his desire showing all over his face. Kissing him feels as necessary as breathing. Relaxation is forgotten, and Danton is wound up and aching in a matter of seconds.

It’s desperate, like they’ve both been starving for it. Sean leans into him and deepens the kiss. Danton starts to fall back, but the feeling of the pillows against his shoulders stings, his skin still hyper-sensitive despite the aloe, and he jolts forward with a grimace.

“Shit, sorry!” Sean exclaims. He sits back to give Danton room. “Maybe we should...”

He gestures vaguely. Danton understands what he means, though, and after a few moments of struggling to reposition themselves, Danton ends up in Sean’s lap. His shoulders still throb, but it’s easier to ignore it when he can focus on Sean’s hands resting on his hips and Sean’s tongue practically down his throat. 

Danton starts tugging at Sean’s shirt. Sean gets the hint and pulls it off, tossing it on the floor next to the bed. Danton takes a moment to stare, and Sean smirks and waggles his eyebrows suggestively. It relieves the tension just enough. 

Danton starts pressing kisses down Sean’s neck, biting down and leaving marks when he reaches his collarbone. He controls the tempo, pushing to see how much Sean will let him. Sometimes Sean is content to lie back and let Danton ravish him. Other times, though, he’ll push back and use all of Danton’s weak spots against him. It becomes apparent that today is the latter when Sean gets a hand firmly in Danton’s hair and _tugs_. 

Danton seems to lose all motor control when someone pulls his hair, which is something that Sean more than gladly takes advantage of. Especially now, with Danton’s hair long enough that Sean can really get a grip on it where it curls up at the nape of his neck. Danton whimpers and his whole body goes slack in Sean’s lap. Sean takes the opportunity to suck a bruise onto the thin, pale skin of his throat. 

Danton is so hard at that point that the rest of his body feels oxygen-deprived with all of the blood flow headed south. He urges his hips forward, grinding against Sean’s thigh, a wordless solicitation. 

Sean gets a hand beneath the waistband of Danton’s shorts. His skin is hot and he gives teasing, barely-there touches, grinning deviously when Danton makes a frustrated noise. 

“Come on, fuck,” Danton huffs. His breath comes in short pants. 

Sean looks immensely pleased with himself. “How about you ask me nicely?”

Sean likes hearing Danton talk; there’s a certain novelty to it, since he’s normally so quiet. Even at times like this it takes a bit of coaxing. Sean doesn’t mind working for it, though. 

Danton gives in easily tonight. “ _Please_ , Sean.”

Sean obliges his request. He speeds up his hand, really going for it now, basking in every sound that escapes Danton’s throat. The gauzy curtains over the windows at the far side of the room let in soft, silvery light just bright enough to illuminate the two figures entangled on the bed. 

Danton lets out a strangled noise when he finally tips over the edge. His whole body tenses for a moment, then he slides boneless into Sean’s arms. He’s breathing hard and his skin is damp and a bit sticky. 

His brain goes fuzzy for a few moments, and by the time he gathers his wits he realizes that Sean hasn’t gotten off yet. He sits up and blinks away the spots at the edges of his vision. 

“Let me,” he offers. 

Sean’s pupils are blown so wide that his irises are just a thin ring of pale blue. He nods. 

It doesn’t take long, and Sean bites down on the fleshy part of his thumb to muffle the noise he makes when he comes. They both take a moment to catch their breath, chests rising and falling in sync. Danton nudges Sean with his foot, and just smiles dumbly at him when he looks up. He can’t put anything into words, but Sean’s gentle laugh is a reassuring answer to a question that he didn’t even know he was asking.

Danton never gets tired of that sound.

///

The next morning at breakfast, Ryan nudges Danton’s shoulder as he’s waiting for the timer of the waffle iron to go off.

“Nice hickey.”

Maybe a few weeks ago, maybe even yesterday, Danton would be embarrassed about a comment like that. He’d blush and try to shrug it off. 

Today, though, he just gives Ryan a wry smile. “Thanks.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you leave me a comment it'll probably make my whole week :-)


End file.
